Has Rick (Andrew Lincoln) finally lost it? Following last episode's 'THEN WHO WAS PHONE?' cliffhanger climax, the newly-widowed former lawman finds his raw emotions soothed by a woman's voice, promising him and his friends safe haven…

A string of other voices follow, including a man who grills Rick about his past 'indiscretions' - with The Walking Dead offering up so much bloodshed each and every week, we'd honestly lost track of how many kills Rick had ranked up, so it's a powerful moment when you realise how his four human murders - the two outsiders, the prison inmate and Shane - still haunt him…

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Hershel tries his best to reach out to Rick, attempting to convince him that the prison is the best of a bad bunch of options, but grimy Grimes is convinced that the calls he's received offer a possible salvation. That is until he receives a call from his dead wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) - a device straight from the Walking Dead comic books - and learns that he's been conversing with ghosts.

Like his future nemesis The Governor, Rick's cracking up in private, but in public, he's still projecting some level of confidence and control - 'Hounded' contains another astounding performance from Andrew Lincoln, one that'll doubtless be snubbed come awards season.

Rick's return to seeming normalcy doesn't mean that his right-hand Daryl is sidelined this week though - Norman Reedus is dependably fantastic in a scene where Daryl recalls the tragic death of his mother for the benefit of new orphan Carl (Chandler Riggs, growing as a performer each week).

Daryl also discovers that his gal pal Carol (Melissa McBride) is still alive - we're aware the character has her fans and we've nothing against McBride, who's a fine performer, but the fact that we didn't miss Carol one jot during her absence means that we're finding it hard to get excited about her return to the fold.

Outside of the prison, Andrea (Laurie Holden) is still sore over the Woodbury zombie death match, but that aside, there's a sense that she's getting a little too comfortable within the town's walls - even the threat of walkers doesn't seem to perturb her much anymore…

It transpires that her biggest problem with the death match was that she actually enjoyed it, and that scares her. Andrea's attraction to what's dark and dangerous is inevitably going to end badly - particularly as that attraction now extends in a very literal sense to The Governor (David Morrissey).

If you'll recall, Andrea's friend Michonne (Danai Gurira) apparently walked free from Woodbury last week, but she's definitely not escaped The Governor's grasp - Merle (Michael Rooker) and his goons are on her track and one of their bullets finds its target, wounding her badly...

Merle's convinced that the injured Michonne's "as good as dead" and happily murders his accomplice Gargulio (Dave Davis) rather than place himself in danger by pursuing her further. It's interesting to see Merle pursue his own agenda, or at least his own survival - he's certainly more than just The Governor's obedient lapdog.

By episode's end, two worlds finally meet as a bloodied Michonne stumbles upon the prison, while Merle has taken two prisoners - and now that he's been captured, it looks like Glenn will get more to do than just make out with Maggie (Lauren Cohan). It's about time - Steven Yeun's been badly underused so far this season.

There's so much drama to reap in the coming weeks - Andrea's reunion with her friends, Daryl and Merle finally facing off on-screen, Rick and The Governor's power struggle…

'Hounded' is a considerable step-up from last week's more timid 'Say the Word' and with season's two major story strands set to collide in spectacular fashion, we can't wait to see the devastating consequences unfold.